MARINE AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER, TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- Marines with Charlie Company, 1st Battlalion, 8th Marine Regiment executed the
Battalion Assault Course, the final event for Integrated Training Exercise 1-16
at Marine Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, Nov. 5-7,
2015.
“The Battalion Assault Course is the culminating event for ITX
1-16,” said 1st Lt. Phillip Jones, executive officer for Charlie Company. “It’s
a combination of the platoon and company range as well as the mechanized assault
course and putting it all together in order to give the Marines one last
evaluation.
The BAC incorporated all elements of the Marine Air-Ground
Task Force to the Air Combat Element and the Logistics Combat Element. Together,
they attempted to degrade the enemy’s ability to fight and place them in a
combined-arms dilemma.
“Enabling the battlefield commanders to have
[communications] with their troops at all times ensures mission success,” said
Sgt. La’Belvin Daniels, the communications chief for Charlie Company. “We have
been working alongside the amphibious assault vehicles and artillery units,
integrating our capabilities allowing for effective communications throughout
the assault.”
The BAC initiated with a combined-arms assault into an
enemy held area transitioning to a defense-in-depth and concluding with a
subsequent counterattack.
“It was the first time Charlie [Company]
conducted a defense alongside both tanks and amphibioius assault vehciles,” said Capt. Adam Young,
commanding officer for Charlie Company. “Marines worked throughout the night
setting up the defense and to wake up the next morning and see the entire
battalion on line in the defense was amazing.”
During ITX 1-16, Marines
throughout the battalion conducted several exercises beforehand to prepare for
the BAC and enhance unit readiness.
“The biggest thing Marines have
demonstrated here is tactical patience,” said Jones. “The BAC increases unit
cohesion … everyone is being pushed to their limits.”
The battalion is
preparing for an upcoming deployment with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task
Force Crisis Response-Africa and the Black Sea Rotational Force early next year.
“This training helps our core mission essential tasks,” Young said. “The
company did outstanding on all the training we conducted out here. Pushing
forward, we’ll start preparing for security force type missions
overseas.”
Next week the battalion and its command element, 8th Marine
Regiment, will be conducting the certification exercise. CERTEX will help them
gain familiarity in stability operations to include: embassy reinforcements,
theater security cooperation and non-combatant evacuation operations.